His Fear of Saying "I Do"

For some men, getting married is like buying a new sweater (I know this sounds weird ladies, but stay with me). Imagine going to the mall and picking out that perfect, brand-spankin’ new sweater. This thing is colorful, soft and nice. We’re talking about one fabulous sweater. But despite all that, you’re still attached to your old sweater. You’re comfortable in it. Sure, you know it’s worn and faded and you know that the new sweater is a hundred times better, but you still think about the old one and all the good times you had in it. You get a little sad about letting it go.

It’s the same thing with getting married. Men know their new married life will be great, but some are still attached to the old glory days of being single, even though they know those days have long since lost their glory. So on that crazy, stressful, whirlwind day that is “The Wedding,” a day that can drive the sober to drink and the sane to lose their minds, some men are thinking about that old sweater. They’re thinking of the girls who got away and all the changes about to happen. They’re thinking about their cold feet and wondering whether they’re doing the right thing.

“The thought that my life was irrevocably changing at this particular moment kept running through my head,” says Jim, 28. “I was nervous as hell, that's for sure.” The day of the wedding, while brides are off giggling with bridesmaids, getting tipsy on mimosas and rushing around to get hair done and nails painted, these nervous grooms are alone with their thoughts and that can be a dangerous thing. I ought to know. I got married this summer and I must confess that I, your humble author, was a mess in the hours before the wedding. I was thinking way too much about life, about how everything was going to be different and, in the end, I had to go off walking by myself for a couple hours to calm down. (For the record, I must point out that I never had any doubts about the woman I was about to marry. She is, quite simply, awesome.)